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With uncertainty haunting the financial landscape, now may not be the best time to be discussing large-scale infrastructure investment.

But don’t say that to Mark Whitworth. Within seconds of our meeting, the chief executive of Peel Ports Group, the UK’s second largest ports operator, launches into a bold defence of his £300m project to build a new container terminal at Peel’s Port of Liverpool headquarters.

Named Liverpool2, or L2 for short, it is capable of berthing the world’s biggest container ships and will double the amount of containers the port can handle. It is an integral piece in George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse vision, connecting the disparate city economies across the North. ...